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Shell-fish

Lobster cooked in shells with sauce, bread crumbs, and seasonings.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 17 ingredients
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Why it works: Parsley and shallot match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,737 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓

Shell-fish

Ingredients

Directions

The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.

Cook the lobster

  1. Combine lobster with enough hot water in a covered saucepan to prevent burning, boil once, then stir in prepared coral and butter.

  2. Remove from heat once it reaches boiling point; avoid overcooking to keep the meat tender.

  3. Serve hot in a deep dish or return to the shells.

  4. Alternatively, place in a baking dish, cover with bread crumbs and bits of butter, and brown in the oven at 400°F (200°C).

Prepare the filling

  1. If serving in shells, carefully open them without breaking the body or tail, wash and dry the shells, rub with oil, and if using two lobsters, arrange them in a boat shape.

  2. Chop parsley and shallot, then mix them with lobster meat, adding anchovy essence, vinegar, cayenne pepper, salt, and a little cream or bechamel sauce, and boil the mixture together.

  3. Add beaten egg yolk.

  4. Fill shells with mixture, cover with bread crumbs and butter, and brown in oven for 20 minutes.

Make the second mixture

  1. Mix 2 tablespoons flour and 1 tablespoon mustard with 3 tablespoons hot cream, cook for 2 minutes.

  2. Add lobster meat, salt, pepper, and a pinch of cayenne, boil for 1 minute.

  3. Fill shells with mixture and brown in oven.

Serve

  1. Serve on a long narrow platter with body in center and tails at each end, garnished with parsley and sliced lemon.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Parsley + shallottop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,737 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  2. Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together34,122 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  3. Lobster + creamtop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,050 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).

  4. Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together41,516 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

  5. Shallot + peppertop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,898 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Lobster
Provides the main meat, which turns firm and rubbery if overheated.
Egg yolk
Enriches the filling and thickens it slightly when gently heated.
Flour
Thickens the hot cream into a smooth, binding sauce.
Cream
Adds moisture and richness, keeping the filling soft and creamy.
Butter
Adds richness and helps the topping brown in the oven.
Bread crumbs
Form a crisp, golden topping when baked over the filling.

The step that matters

Remove the lobster from heat as soon as it boils. Lobster protein tightens quickly when overheated, so prolonged cooking makes the meat tough and rubbery. Brief heat keeps it tender and juicy.

Swap the shallot

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (lobster, butter, parsley, vinegar, pepper, cream, egg):

  1. Capsicumfits about as well
  2. Shallotthe original
  3. Mustardfits about as well
  4. Chivefits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against lobster, butter, parsley, vinegar, pepper, cream, egg. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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